tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post8633094143085579698..comments2018-03-15T05:17:47.212+13:00Comments on Karl du Fresne: Playing the blame game over "Polish" death campsKarl du Fresnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05054853925940134404noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-21137227654400899252018-03-09T17:08:32.497+13:002018-03-09T17:08:32.497+13:00I do wonder at the motive behind this Polish gover...I do wonder at the motive behind this Polish government move, given the country&#39;s ongoing fall towards authoritarianism (along with Hungary&#39;s). While, yes, many ordinary Poles (and Hungarians) sheltered and helped their Jewish neighbours, many did not, and cheered them to the gas chambers.<br /><br />However, as someone with a deep interest in that period of history, I do note that many people today appear not to realise that the death camps (ie those with the extermination facilities) were in Poland, not Germany; and that the camps in Germany, Austria and parts of Czechoslavkia (eg Theresienstadt) were &quot;concentration camps&quot; -- places of misery, enslavery and death, but not actually designed and operated as extermination facilities.<br /><br />On a similar subject, one still hears from older generations of Germans that they had no idea what Hitler was doing to the Jews. This was conclusively proved false in a recent book, The German War by Nicholas Stargardt, an Oxford professor of history. His book is compiled from the diaries, letters and telegrams of &quot;ordinary&quot; Germans during the war. Their letters explicitly mention the fate of the Jews and German complicity in it.<br /><br />For example, in letters written after Bomber Harris set Hamburg ablaze in 1943 (he actually called it Operation Gomorrah), various letters speak of the firestorm being God&#39;s revenge &quot;for what we have done to the Jews.&quot; There are many similar letters and diary entries.<br /><br />A book well worth reading for a view of the war not often seen.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07572242600889192661noreply@blogger.com